Torn in Two
by Porsche101
Summary: When Marlene gets a new roommate, the new male otter in town stirs up trouble with Skipper. Rating is for later chapters for Skilene and mild cursing.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:_

_If you've seen the new episode, Roomies, then you know where I got this idea from. If you haven't, I'm sorry if I ruined anything for you. By the way, sorry if the text is a little bunched up... Microsoft Word on this computer is a new updated version and it's weird. R&R!_

* * *

Private stared across the room at Skipper and Rico, eyeing the pair as they performed the daily weapons check.

"Flamethrower… check… bow and arrow… check…" Skipper muttered as he took in the weapons lying on the floor.

_"Chainsaw!" _Rico exclaimed as he coughed it up. How he manages to swallow it and regurgitate it back up is still shrouded in mystery, at least to Kowalski. "_Ch-check!" _

"Rico, how many times do I have to tell you that that's not considered a military weapon?" Skipper rolled his eyes as he cradled a Swiss Army Knife in his flippers, one of his personal favorites.

"Aww..." Rico growled in disappointment as he swallowed it whole once more.

Private got up and walked to the two penguins and grinned, seeing his chance. "Don't worry, Rico. You can still use it for your personal needs though." He placed a flipper on his shoulder comfortingly.

In no time, Rico's tongue began to hang out of his mouth in happiness. "Yack, yack!"

"Don't tell him that!" Skipper scolded Private with a whack on the back of his head. "Who knows what he might use that thing for?" Skipper glanced back at the manic penguin. "We're lucky we don't have to sleep with one eye open with him around."

"Oh, come on! He's part of the team, he won't do anything," Private assured him with a grin. Although, when he turned around he was just in time to see the chainsaw in Rico's flippers, the psychotic penguin demolishing a wooden table with a manic laugh that could be heard over the growl of the killing machine.

Private swallowed. "Ehh… then again…"

"Rico! We are not in _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_! Now, put that infernal contraption away!" Skipper barked, obviously fearless of the crazed penguin's manners as he made his way to the destroyed table.

Private was just about to duck and cover behind the cement blocks but the door swinging open caught his attention.

Marlene stomped into the penguins' HQ, obviously worked up about something. "Alright, you guys wanna hear what I…?" but she trailed off at the sight of the broken table pieces, along with Rico and Skipper arguing over a deadly chainsaw.

She placed her paws on her hips impatiently. "Do you guys ever have a normal day?"

"We did once," Kowalski perked up, tearing his eyes away from an experiment to acknowledge her, "I believe it was a Thursday."

Marlene narrowed her eyes at the intellectual penguin.

"That was a rhetorical question… wasn't it?" he asked with uncertainty.

"Marlene?! What are you doing here?" Skipper asked, his voice exasperated and angry, making it obvious that Rico's right to 'bear arms' wasn't going to be ending any time soon.

She growled and stalked up into Skipper's face, giving him a good jab in the chest with her index finger. "Alright, first of all, do not get an attitude with me right now. And second of all… I'm getting _another _roommate." She rolled her eyes as Skipper's widened.

"What in Cottage Cheese…? Did we not teach that walrus a lesson last time?"

Rico chuckled evilly and held up his chainsaw, but now it had dynamite woven into its teeth by the wick. "Eh, eh… kaboom, kaboom, kaboom!"

"Rico, enough with the chainsaw already!" Skipper exclaimed as he turned around to face him."And the… dynamite? Are you trying to kill us?!"

"Skipper, more or less it's not going to be a walrus again. In fact, I still don't understand why they put a walrus in an otter habitat in the first place. They're two totally different species," Kowalski announced as he fiddled with his abacus.

"Hm, I concur," he muttered with a thoughtful expression. He looked back over at Marlene to see her staring intently at him, her eyes a bright topaz of excitement. "You okay, Marlene? You look a little keyed up."

"Well, I'm not _that _apprehensive about it. Why do you ask?"

Skipper swallowed. What would she think if he noticed her eyes? "Um, you just seem a little jumpy," Skipper said quickly, his eyes shifting from her gaze over to Rico. "Anyway, back to the main subject. Do you know anything about this shipment of your new roommate?"

"No, I just heard the humans talking about a new addition to the zoo that was assigned to the otter habitat. God, if it's that walrus again I am going to freak out! I will not put up with her ever again." Marlene shuddered. "She was _so _gross!"

"I know and don't worry, if by chance it is her we'll just do what we did before: send her to another zoo." Skipper placed a flipper on her shoulder. "It's that easy."

Marlene felt a concealed blush creeping up underneath her fur at Skipper's touch.

"Alight, then. When this bozo comes in we're gonna give him a real New York welcome," Skipper said with a mischievous grin.

***

_Okay… okay… I think I have everything nice and spick and span! _

Marlene grinned as she eyed her habitat but that satisfied smile instantly disappeared as she remembered the last time she had cleaned it up this nice. "Don't worry, Marlene, it's not her… Kowalski said that it's a one in a hundred chance it's her again. That's a big gap between possibility and it never happening." She smiled again, but wider. "No dice."

Her stomach instantly clenched at Skipper's saying coming out of her own mouth. _Oh, lord…_

She swallowed nervously as she walked on outside. "I am just too tense… I need to relax… yeah, that's what I'll do! I'll go for a swim and just…" but the sight of the zookeepers putting a crate inside her habitat made her trail off, her stomach doing flip flops. "Oh my God, she's here!"

She slinked up to the crate, excited and happy that it was a small animal -hopefully an otter- and not that walrus. _Okay, Marlene, make a good impression. _

She reached forward to pry open the crate, but the top of it flew off, making her stumble backwards and fall onto her back. She squinted up to see the outline of what looked like an otter, but the sun was just making it look like a silhouette. "Uh… hello?"

"Oh, my sincerest apologies, miss," the otter spoke in a very friendly manner.

Marlene's eyes widened as she took in the male voice. He had a soft French accent, her personal favorite. She watched as he leaned down to grasp her paw to help her up, making his features visible to her for the first time.

He was just handsome! He had these beautiful sky blue eyes that could melt anyone's heart along with the whitest teeth Marlene had ever seen. And to show off those pearly whites, he had a gorgeous, charming smile that could make any girl swoon over.

His dark cocoa brown fur was so thick and luscious; it looked like you could take a nap on it. He had the usual white fur on his cheeks and chest like Marlene had, but this white was even whiter than Skipper's feathers. It was a perfect, snow white.

She licked her lips as she was pulled to her feet, making her realize that he was just an inch taller than her.

"My name is André, and what will I have the liberty of calling you?" He flashed a hypnotizing smile at her.

"M-Marlene, you can call me Marlene," she stammered, showing him a shy smile.

***

"Okay, I know it's not much but… you know, its home," Marlene said as she gestured to the inside of the habitat. Now that she looked at it, it still looked a little rugged.

"No, it's perfect. I've always wanted a home like this and look… now I have one!" He spread his arms wide with an equally wide smile.

Marlene giggled. He was pretty funny.

Then she realized something. "Oh my gosh, where are you going to sleep?" She immediately went to go grab some spare pillows, not believing after about an hour of cleaning she forgot to put up a spare bed.

"No, really, it's fine." He chuckled a bit as she continued to fly around the room, preparing a bed for him.

"No, it's not fine. I'm just going to let you sleep on the hard floor when I have the supplies for a spare bed? I don't think so!" She laid down some pillows on a hard platform for him, which was nearly on the opposite side of the room from where her bed was.

"Okay, okay." He smiled softly to himself. "I admire your hospitality."

She came to a stop in front of him, slightly out of breath. "We'll, you're living here now, aren't you?"

"Mm, touché."

Marlene turned her back and bit her lip. That's something Skipper would have said. Her eyes widened as he came back into her mind. _Oh, no… Skipper._

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Lol, I just finished 'How May I Love You?' and now I'm coming out with another one? Am I going too fast for you guys? Well, I'm at a hotel on my grandma's laptop and I'm alone for most of the time so… I've got a lot of time on my hands. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Don't forget to review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note:_

_Chapter 2 of Torn In Two, everybody! Enjoy and review before you exit! I know, I update fast... _

* * *

Skipper kept his eyes set on his feet as he paced in the center of the room, grumbling to himself.

Marlene had promised that she would report back immediately after she met her new roommate. She said that she wanted to handle whatever was coming on her own and that she didn't want Skipper and company to get involved.

_Skipper, it's my mess, I can handle it… _Skipper repeated Marlene's words in his head, but her not giving the all clear was making him strangely nervous. He didn't know why it was eating him up the way it was, all he knew was that he was worried for her.

What if her roommate had turned out to be a spy and was carrying her off in their handbag to their base? Only to bribe the penguins into spilling their secrets and Kowalski's experiments with a safe Marlene in return? Huh, a spy can't make things _too _simple these days.

"Skipper, perhaps the roommate didn't turn out to be the walrus and she is just getting acquainted with him or her," Kowalski offered.

"Or… or the 'roommate' could have turned out to be an enemy spy and is ransacking Marlene's home as we speak," Private chirped, perhaps a little too happily.

Skipper and Kowalski both turned toward the youngest penguin in annoyance.

"Um, sorry, I'm just trying to…"

"Well, you're not being helpful if that's what you mean," Skipper snapped. "That blasted walrus could be in there in a disguise and poor Marlene wouldn't even know it."

"Skipper, I think that a walrus finding a good disguise would be very difficult. Pretty much impossible, actually," Kowalski muttered as he wrote down the disguise options on his trusty options board. "I suppose a semi truck camouflage would work…"

Skipper turned around to face his strategy planner, amused at how serious he was taking it. He then let out a growl of impatience, making his teammates look up at him. "That is it. We're going over there."

He whirled around and started up the ladder. When he didn't hear the others climbing up the metal ladder with him he turned around and looked down at them. "Well, what are you waiting for? I am the leader and what I say goes! You guys should know that by now."

"Skipper, I don't think that…" Kowalski trailed off at the death glare Skipper was giving him, clearly stating that if they didn't follow him, they would be on maintenance duty for a week. Perhaps more. "O-okay, come on Rico… Private."

They jumped to attention and made their way onto the floe, looking out for humans crossing across their exhibit before flipping up into the air. They landed in a perfect fighting stance that would have looked rehearsed and professional if anyone saw them. The quartet slid over on their white bellies to the otter habitat before pushing off and landing in the water with multiple splashes, one after the other.

As soon as they slid into the otter habitat they formed, once again, their formation.

Skipper's eyes widened at what he saw. Marlene was sitting on her bed, but she wasn't alone. She was sitting next to an otter. A _male _otter. A _handsome male _otter. He flinched as he felt a sharp pang deep inside his chest, but didn't take much of a notice to it.

"Skipper! What are you guys doing here?!" Marlene exclaimed, a look of fury deep inside her eyes. _I thought I told you guys to stay out of it!_

"Ah, so these are your friends you were talking about?"

Skipper scowled at his French accent. He already didn't like him; he didn't have to push it further. "Ah, and you must be the new… roommate." Skipper watched him as he got up to greet the penguins formerly.

"Yes, that would be me. My name is André and you are…?" He eyed the four carefully. Especially the third tallest, for he seemed a little odd. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth over a strange scar that marked his left cheek, showing that he was impaired.

"That's classified until further notice." Skipper narrowed his eyes at him. He had to be a spy. No normal otter would be so… perfect. He had faultless teeth, amazing dark and white fur that covered his body, not to mention the dazzling blue eyes that he showed off through his lashes. He could hypnotize any girl he pleased.

Skipper glanced back at Marlene who was giving him the dirtiest look he had ever laid eyes on.

"Um, okay. Glad to meet you, too," André said awkwardly as he took a few steps back to Marlene, getting the hint that he wasn't exactly welcome when it came to the penguins.

"Skipper, outside. Now," Marlene hissed.

Skipper faked a stiff smirk. "I was about to ask you the same question," Skipper glanced over at his men, "boys, keep an eye on… André."

The three instantly turned to the otter as Skipper and Marlene headed on outside.

"So, what zoo were you at before you came to New York?" Kowalski asked as he was desperately trying to spark up a conversation that wasn't any more awkward than the situation they were in.

"Skipper, are you insane?! He just came here and you're looking at him like he's the devil himself!" Marlene hissed as they came to a stop next to her pond. She whirled around and stared into his azure eyes with her bright green ones.

"I don't like him Marlene. I don't feel good vibes coming off of him," Skipper muttered as he crossed his flippers, looking straight into her big eyes which were reflecting off the purples, pinks and oranges from the sunset.

Marlene sighed angrily. "Skipper, you really are psychotic and insane. There is nothing wrong with him! He is not some spy sent to 'steal your secrets'. What secrets could you possibly have worth stealing?"

"First of all, take a good look at him. He is spy material. He's French, Marlene! And second of all, we have plenty of secrets and you not knowing them is a perfect way to keep Miss Tinkerbell in there from finding them out." Skipper placed his flippers on his hips to show he meant business.

Marlene stared at Skipper in disbelief. And to think she actually started to have feelings for that penguin. "You are so stubborn, Skipper. I thought you were different than that."

"What do you mean you thought I was different? Different from what?!" Skipper exclaimed as he threw his flippers to his sides, thoroughly confused. "That otter in there is designed for a job meant for an undercover spy. He has the ability to hypnotize naïve and stupid girls with his eyes!"

Marlene's eyes widened at his pronounced insult. "You think I'm stupid?!" She ground her teeth and slapped Skipper across his face, sending him into the water. "Go get some rest Skipper, and maybe have Private whip you up a stiff drink because you need to get some priorities straight."

Skipper watched her back as she stomped her way into her habitat, marching right past the four standing in the doorway. He continued to stare after her until his gaze moved to André who hadn't bothered to follow Marlene. He sent him a glare he wished he could see before he turned around to get ready for the night.

Suddenly, Skipper felt strong flippers wrap around his own. He looked up to see his men trying to help him out of the water. "I've got it, I've got it."

"Skipper, are you alright? Marlene gave you quite a hit!" Private exclaimed, surprised that his leader had been taken out by a girl.

"I'm fine," he growled as he planted his feet on the ground. "It was just a misunderstanding. She'll come around soon." He flipped back into the water, making him getting out of the pool in the first place seem pointless.

"Just give her some time, right Skipper?" Kowalski asked as the three followed suit, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah, she just needs to cool down." _And perhaps get a little massage from her precious __**André, **_Skipper though sourly.

He immediately shook his head, startled by the feeling that suddenly overtook him, along with the twinge in his chest he had felt earlier. _Ugh… _Whatever what happening to him, he wasn't really taking a liking to it.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Hm, Skipper is having weird feelings, yes? Perhaps it could be… jealousy? Hmm…_


	3. Chapter 3

__

Author's Note:

_This chapter is extremely short, I know. Enjoy anyway! By the way, I might be taking a break from this story after this chapter. So be prepared for a little hiatus on this story. __I have to say I'm starting to worry about my update schedule. It's like I write a chapter everyday. I'm starting to get nervous about my story turning bad just because of that reason. I'm gonna start putting in more thought, which means slowing down. _

* * *

Marlene stared at André's back as he slept peacefully. She was waiting until she was absolutely sure that he was asleep. She wanted to sneak out and see Skipper. She just had to know why he had acted so strange when he met André.

She swallowed thickly and planted her feet on the cold stony floor and crossed over the rug in the center of the room before making her way out into the night. She continued to the water and swam over to the edge of her exhibit.

She jumped over the rail and crawled carefully over to the penguins' exhibit. She knew she was being insane by barging in while they were sleeping, but she just had to know. If she didn't, there was no way she was going to get any sleep that night.

Just before she plunged into the water to go to the floe, the center of their pool, she noticed a shape sitting on the edge staring into the water. His white feathers stood out against the moonlight as it reflected off the surface of the pool.

She peered closer and recognized the shape as Skipper. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. What was he doing up at this hour? Usually he was all about sleep since they needed a lot of it to perform well during their training, at least that's what he always implied.

She opened her mouth and took in a breath to speak. "Skipper?" She blinked as he stood up in a second, ready to fight whoever had called his name.

"Marlene? What on Earth are you doing over here? Its past midnight," he addressed her after he was sure it was her. He placed his flippers on his hips, pondering the reason she had gotten up just so she could come over to their HQ.

She lowered herself into the water and jumped out onto the edge of the makeshift ice floe. She walked up to him and stared into his eyes, trying to sense any nervousness or lies in his cobalt stare. "I've just been wondering about something. Something that happened today."

"And that would be…?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, obviously puzzled.

She sighed angrily. "Why did you act that way when you met André? That was just not necessary, Skipper. And you know it."

Skipper scowled heatedly in return for her sigh. "I'm just going by military ways and what I know. Those French are meant to be good at espionage. It's in their blood, Marlene! I've fought French spies before. I've met assassins, spies and robbers that were French. I have no tolerance for them."

"He's probably not even associated with this so called 'spying'. We've talked, Skipper! I know him better now and I can say that he's not even _with _your little military suspicions."

"And how do you know that? Being a spy means you have to be good with lying. Have you ever heard of that term before, Marlene? Does 'lying' ring a bell?" Skipper folded his flippers across his chest. "Just look at them in war! Hell, the only reasons the Americans wanted France on their side in the war in Iraq was to show the Iraqis how to surrender."

Marlene could feel the anger beginning to pent-up inside of her. He thinks that everything is about military doesn't he? "Skipper… you think everything is about military and war don't you? You are just so embedded into your stupid military crap that you can't even see straight!"

Marlene closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to try to calm herself down. "Skipper, you have to learn how to look past all of that. Why don't you just give him a chance? Get to know him a little bit before you make false accusations."

Skipper looked down at the ground and sighed silently. He looked back up into her eyes to see that she was giving him a puppy dog stare. He could already feel his defenses starting to collapse. Why did she have to be so… cute?

"Please, Skipper? For me?" She reached forward and ran a hand down his shoulder and continued down the length of his flipper. "Please, just… try it."

He growled slightly and pulled back, knowing he was in too deep to dig himself out. "Alright, alright. I'll… give him a chance. But if he is any of the things that I suspect… then he's out of here. For good."

She grinned giddily at her luck. "Thank you so much, Skipper!" She lunged forward and hugged him tightly. She smiled into his neck as she felt his flippers slowly wrap around her as well.

As soon as she realized exactly who she was hugging, her eyes opened wide and she pulled back, much to Skipper's astonishment. She examined his expression carefully and noticed a hint of… disappointment that she had pulled away. Marlene looked down and saw his flippers were still reaching out, just barely touching her forearms.

Skipper's flippers slapped back down to his sides, surprised along with Marlene about the feelings he felt and the way he had actually _wanted _to hug her. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, maybe you should go. It's getting late and, uh… I have things to take care of early in the morning."

"Yeah… sure." She walked numbly to the water and before she knew it, she was standing on the edge of her own habitat, watching him as he closed the lid to the fish bowl entrance.

As she walked into her home after the third dip that night, she began to wonder again about Skipper and why he was acting so strange around her, much less around André. But she had to admit, she was happy that he was going to give her new roommate a chance.

She smiled over at André, planning to tell him about their stroke of luck in the morning.

As she settled into her bed, her thoughts turned once again back to Skipper. She had actually developed a theory as to why he was acting weird around the two otters and that was jealousy. She knew that was a screwball hypothesis, but it was all she had.

As for the emotions and feelings she had started to feel around Skipper in the beginning, she wasn't sure about them anymore. She still liked Skipper, but… he was pushing her away. She didn't want to stop liking him but he was making it harder and harder for her. She wasn't even sure about Skipper's own feelings for her.

Her eyes moved up to the sleeping otter across the room.

She was between two brick walls, with no way out.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Once again, this was short and I apologize. This was just to introduce a little tidbit of Marlene's and Skipper's feelings around each other and how Skipper will give André a chance… eventually. And before I shut up, I just want to get your full opinion on this chapter and the story. Any comments, questions or ideas for me? That would make my day... and my week. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note:_

_Give it up for chapter four._

* * *

Skipper sighed as he waddled over to Marlene's habitat. The little talk that he and Marlene had last night was still fresh in his mind and a good penguin never went back on his word.

He had told his men that they had the day off; of course he didn't tell how he would be spending his own day.

He shifted the deck of cards in his flipper, anticipating the little game they would be playing soon thanks to Marlene who had generously lent her habitat to them so they could talk privately. Skipper wasn't very cheerful when it came to Marlene's offer, but she hit him full force of her evil puppy dog pout which, remarkably, Skipper was not immune to.

As he entered through the door, something he rarely did, he saw André sitting on what appeared his bed, obviously waiting for him.

Skipper forced a smile as he took his confused expression in. He was good, too good. "Hello, André."

"Skipper." He smiled at the penguin nonetheless, even though he truly wasn't fond of him. He was just too… strange for his liking. "Any idea what's happening here? Marlene didn't tell me."

"Well, Marlene and I had a talk last night and we both agreed that… we should get to know each other more. And I just want to say," Skipper clenched his jaws together, trying to put together the words he rarely used, "I'm sorry that I treated you the way I did yesterday. It was wrong for me to do."

André smiled at his apology. "It's no problem Skipper. Marlene told me you had trust issues. Something about… being military refined?"

Skipper flinched. That otter was going to get an earful. "Oh did she now?"

"Yeah," André looked down at Skipper's right flipper, "a deck of cards? Are we gonna play a game or what?" The French otter flashed the penguin a smile.

"Oh, of course." _If this otter is anything like Pepe La Pew, he is out of here. _

Skipper and André both settled down at a table that Marlene had so very kindly put up for them. "So… what zoo were you at before you came here?" Skipper asked him, trying to get information from him.

"Well, I was in La Palmyre Zoo in France. It is the most popular zoo in Europe. One of the most recommended among them, too." André chuckled, making Skipper cock an eyebrow. "Ah, I was just remembering how the Meerkats would always torment the people. It wasn't very funny, but you just had to laugh."

Skipper frowned down at the cards as he shuffled them in his flippers. That answer was not what he was expecting. Although, him being from France itself marked out most of his enemies, for a good portion of them couldn't set foot in France. "Yes, the, uh… Spider Monkeys here sure make a show with the guests. Although, you have to let them loose since they don't know how to operate the locks on the cages. But when you do, they never disappoint."

Skipper grinned as he started to distribute the cards evenly. "How are you getting along with Marlene so far?" He wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to ask this question so bad, he just had an inescapable itch to.

"Oh, we're getting along great. The water is fabulous here when we take a dip in the pond." He glanced up at Skipper, noticing him pause on separating the cards.

"Go on." Even though Skipper said it, he wasn't sure if he really wanted him to.

"Um, she's really… nice and… pretty. She has a great personality. And she seems pretty fond of you." He licked his lips as he saw Skipper look up with interest.

"Oh, really? How so?" The conversation wasn't really going along as Skipper had planned but… this could work.

"She said how hardcore you were and how you seem to be hard on the outside but soft on the inside sometimes. She mentioned you being pretty… um… sweet at times. Although, not often. But when you are… you're very congenial."

"Congenial? Wow, didn't think she thought that." Skipper furrowed his brow. He had no idea that Marlene liked him on his sweet side.

André's eyes widened slightly as he noticed Skipper's pleased grin. _Oh, no… what if he likes her? I cannot let that happen. She should be all mine. _"But she also mentioned how annoying you get when you pop up randomly. She really doesn't like your ways, Skipper. I mentioned her actually having feelings for you but she said she would rather date Julien. Heck, she said she would rather date Maurice."

Skipper cringed at the thought of her being together with one of those lemurs. But he felt even worse knowing she actually thought of him like that. "Oh…" His eyes narrowed and his smile turned upside down at the feeling of a knife being twisted in his chest. And André continuing on about what Marlene had said wasn't helping anything.

"Yeah… she's starting to get a little sick of you. She mentioned you were completely psychotic and that she wished you would go back to Africa since you're turning her life upside down. Sorry, man."

Skipper looked up into his eyes, trying to find any sense of lying but… all he saw was blackness. "Oh, no, it's fine! I didn't… didn't have feelings for her anyway! No, just forget it and play the game." He picked up his cards and tried to put on his poker face, but his mind was clogged with pain and thoughts of Marlene.

How could she say that about him? He thought that she was his friend and that he could trust her but… maybe not.

What he heard from André nearly tore his heart out of his chest, not to mention he felt a knot beginning to form deep in his stomach. It felt like he was almost depressed and betrayed and forgotten.

Why was he feeling that way? It was just Marlene! She was an otter that saw absolutely no interest in military life. She was the complete opposite of Skipper. But… don't they say that opposites attract? It was like she was a North end of a magnet and he was a South end…

He mentally shook himself away from that thought. Sure, they were opposite alright, but they do _not _attract. No, no, no… double quadruple no!

They were more like peanut butter and jelly. _Wait, don't peanut butter and jelly… go good together? _Skipper growled angrily, finding that he was stuck.

"You okay, Skipper? Having a losing hand?" André asked suddenly, knocking Skipper out of his thoughts.

Skipper scoffed. "Only in your dreams, otter." He looked down at his cards and saw that he was indeed getting creamed. "Uhh… on second thought… I'm not really in the mood for a game of cards…" _Because I can't pay attention to a damn thing I'm doing._

André grinned, knowing Skipper was indeed losing. "Alright, what do you want to do?"

Skipper tapped his beak in thought. He looked back over at André when it came to him. "How about we go for a walk? Has Marlene already given you a tour?"

***

"…my father was never really a passionate one. He would always kick us around and order us to do things. Not the best parental guidance in the world."

Skipper nodded as André continued to tell him about his life story. He could already write half a biography about André already and they were only just passing Joey's pen. Perhaps André really wasn't the spy that he thought he was…

"Now my mother, she was a sweetheart. She would do anything for us kids. She was very affectionate. My mother finally divorced my father and then… well you know. I don't want to get into all that family business."

"It sounds like you had a very rough time in France," Skipper offered as they walked in the direction of the Reptile House.

"Eh, not really. You get used to it after a while. I finally learned how to ignore my father but my younger siblings… not so much. It was hard for them to let them go. But with some family counseling, they got to the point where they really saw the bad side of my father. I had to protect them from him for a while, which was hard on me because I would always take the hits."

"It's a good thing you did protect them like you did. You always want the next generation to have a good childhood so it won't cause problems in the future. You did the right thing, André," Skipper muttered, still not believing that the new otter had to go through all of that misery.

"Yeah, so what's your life story?"

"My life story? You want to hear my story?" Skipper looked up at André in shock. He had been through so much he still couldn't believe it. He battled the Lochness Monster, had been to Atlantis and saved Princess Awaki and fought in countless wars and missions. His life was enough to fill ten books… and rising.

"Sure. I told you most of mine, now I want to hear yours."

"Well, I've got too much to tell. Being the military penguin I am my life has had too much drama and action."

"Alright… what was the first mission you went on in your life?" André asked, obviously trying to break his story down into pieces.

"My first mission was to stop Dr. Blowhole's machine from firing to the center of the Earth, which would have caused the planet to blow up… or implode inward… I can't remember clearly." He looked over with amusement as André stared at him, his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

"Are you serious?"

"Does this face not look serious to you?" Skipper pointed at his expression, which was entirely blank except for his cocked brow.

"No, it looks serious enough," André said with a shrug.

Skipper chuckled. "I have to say, André, you're not the otter I thought you were. I originally thought you were a French spy. But I think you've proved me wrong. You're pretty decent."

"Uh, thanks… Skipper." But inside, André's gut twisted uncomfortably.

He had lied to Skipper about Marlene saying all of those things… but it was the only way to keep his flippers off of her.

Marlene deserved him, not that flightless bird. He was much better for her anyway. He could actually love her, while that penguin couldn't. They could have a family, while Skipper and Marlene could never do that, no matter what they did. She needed a mammal, not a bird that was too caught up in the past, much less in military.

"Well, I better get going, André. I don't want Rico blowing up metal in the microwave again," Skipper muttered as he glanced back at his home.

"Yeah, it is getting a little late."

Skipper looked at the sun. "You're right. And, André, I'm glad we had this talk. You're alright in my book."

"Thanks, Skipper. That… means a lot to me."

They both turned around and went their separate ways.

Skipper jumped into the refreshing water and opened the hatch to the HQ but as soon as the warm air hit him from the hidden room, Marlene immediately came back to his mind.

His stomach churned, making him feel like he wanted to throw up. He moaned and looked back over at Marlene's place, seeing André greeting Marlene outside of the door. He watched as they hugged, sending stomach acid up his esophagus.

Oh, well, at least he knew how Marlene really felt about him. Now hopefully that would affect the future in a good way.

Now he had to focus on telling the boys about André being in the clear.

Sure, André wasn't a French spy sent to steal their secrets and plans, but that didn't mean he still couldn't cause trouble.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Haha! Didn't see that coming now did ya? Admit it! I have to say that Skipper was pretty naive and stupid in this chapter... he's blinded by love!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:_

_Chapter five, everyone! Enjoy and review!_

* * *

"Checkmate," Kowalski muttered as he made his move without even looking at the board. He couldn't wait for Skipper to get back because he needed a challenge.

Private just gawked at the board, wondering how he could have lost. But then again, he was playing against an intellectual penguin.

Suddenly the sound of the fish bowl flying open caught their attention. They all looked up to see Skipper climbing down the ladder and sauntering over to the table.

"Welcome back, Skipper. What did you do on your day off?" Kowalski asked him in a cheery manner.

"Um… well, I went to go have a talk with André," he confessed quickly as he made his way to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

"Oh… well, how did it go?" Private asked nervously, wondering what could have happened between the two. He already knew Skipper didn't like André, although he didn't know why.

"It went swimmingly. Took all day, but it was worth it." Skipper forced a smile at the boys, feeling uneasy as Marlene was still on his mind.

"That's nice." Kowalski watched his leader as he sat down at the table with them. He could feel a sense of uneasiness around him. "Is something wrong? You seem to be acting different."

"No, soldier, I'm as chipper as ever! I'm just glad to know that André appears to be in the clear. No harm done and there shouldn't be a threat." Skipper rested his flippers on the table, glaring at Kowalski slightly.

"Skipper," Kowalski sighed, "being a military leader you're not a very good liar." He cocked an eyebrow as Skipper groaned slightly.

"You're right. I'm horrible at it, which doesn't make much sense." He held his head in his flippers, going over what André said about what Marlene had told him.

"Well, what happened? Did he hurt you, Skipper?" Private asked with his light blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"Of course not, Private! I would have made a move before that otter had time to flinch!" Skipper's expression softened as he relaxed back. "No… he didn't hurt me. At least not physically."

Kowalski frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand… did he hurt you… mentally?"

"No. More like emotionally." He looked down sadly at the table.

"Emotionally? Did he say something that bothered you?" Kowalski leaned forward a bit with interest, prompting the others to do so as well.

Skipper looked between the three awkwardly, feeling claustrophobic. "He said that Marlene thought I was getting annoying and was completely psychotic. She doesn't like my ways and apparently thinks we should all go back to Africa with Marty, Alex, Melman and Gloria. She said we're turning her life upside down."

He looked up and saw Kowalski writing everything down… not like that's anything new.

"Hm, anything else?" Kowalski asked as he loudly dotted the paper to make a period at the end of the sentence.

"Well… he also said that she would rather go out with Julien or Maurice instead of… me." He looked down shamefully as he felt a blush riding up under his feathers.

He heard a snap and looked up to see Kowalski had stopped writing, now holding up his pencil to reveal the tip had been snapped off from the pressure. No doubt being caught off guard at Marlene's words.

"Well, why do you care? You don't like her anyway… right, Skipper?" Kowalski asked as he made his way to the pencil sharpener he had gotten for last Christmas.

"Actually Kowalski… I think I do…" Skipper muttered, surprised at his own words.

At hearing that, Kowalski's flipper accidentally slipped, forcing the pencil into the sharpener which made the device chew it up noisily until it was just a little stub. "Galileo… quick! Skipper's been brainwashed!"

He rushed up and made a move to grab his leader to cure him but Skipper's flipper slapping him across his cheek made him stop.

"Cut it out, Kowalski! I haven't been brainwashed. I wouldn't let anyone get near me with one of those machines." He lowered his flipper as Kowalski shook his head, trying to get his facts straight.

"So… you _like, _like Marlene then?" His jaw dropped as Skipper slowly nodded his head.

"If you like her, Skipper, why don't you ask her out?" Private asked innocently with a shrug.

"Private, were you not paying attention to anything I was saying? Marlene has clearly expressed that she doesn't like me that way." Skipper shrugged. "It's no big deal. I've dealt with worse things that this." But inside his chest, the feeling of a knife being twisted in his heart returned.

"Maybe… just maybe André was lying? Did you assume that option, Skipper?" Kowalski asked with a thoughtful rub to his chin.

"Well, if he was lying then he's pretty good at it. Either that, or I'm just stupid."

"No, you're not stupid, Skipper! Don't think that. You know everything there is to know in the world," Private gave him a pat on his shoulder to try to be comforting.

_"Kiss up," _Rico roughly whispered under his breath.

"No, I don't know everything. I didn't know about my feelings until… André. I needed that French otter to point them out to me. I couldn't even read Marlene! I didn't know she thought like that. And now my chances are ruined."

The team watched their leader as he scaled back up the ladder to the floe.

"You guys, we need to do something," Private whispered as soon as the fish bowl was closed.

"You're right, Private. And we will. We're not just going to sit back and watch the show this time." Kowalski narrowed his eyes. "There's absolutely no way that Marlene would say that. She flirts with him, guys! They both flirt with each other. Just look at Marlene back when Rhonda the walrus was her roommate. It was flirt central between those two lovebirds."

"What do you suggest we do?" Private asked.

Kowalski grinned. "You just leave that to me."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_**Finally! **__The team actually gets involved! I know this was a little short... again, but you're just gonna have to bear with me._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note:_

_Sixth chapter, everyone! Sorry it took so long. I've been busy… R&R and enjoy!_

_

* * *

__"Every time you use the Shamwow towel, you'll say wow!" _the TV belted out during a commercial.

"'Shamwow'? They couldn't think of a better name than that?" Skipper asked in annoyance.

Kowalski eyed his leader from across the room. Private and Rico were standing on either side of him. They were planning to head over to Marlene's to do some recon, and perhaps confront the two face to face. Thanks to Skipper giving them a day off, it was a perfect time to examine the two otters up close.

"So, what do you think we'll find today, Kowalski?" Private whispered.

"I don't know, hopefully something good that will prove André was lying," he whispered back. He turned toward Skipper. "Um, Skipper, we're going to head over to Marlene's place. Is that okay?"

Skipper turned his head to stare at the three. "Um, sure. Don't do anything stupid."

"Not to worry, Skipper! We won't!" Private chirped as they climbed out of the manhole one after the other.

"Alright, stay low. Don't let the two spot us, we're doing hasty undercover work. Operation: Otter is a-go." Kowalski chuckled. "I've always wanted to say that."

The trio slid down the main walkway until they reached the manhole. Kowalski instructed Private to lift it up out of the ground. As soon as he did they all jumped down, ignoring the ladder on the side of the pipe.

They all landed in the water with a three separate splashes.

"Wait." Kowalski put a flipper in front of Private and Rico, using his highly developed senses of hearing, taste and smell to look out for any enemies, such as the Rat King. "Okay… all clear."

They jumped forward and made their way down the sewer to Marlene's habitat. She had a manhole directly under the rug in the middle of her home, which would be the perfect place to spy on them.

"Kowalski… would Skipper approve of this?" Private whispered as they heard Marlene's and André's voice echoing down the pipe.

"Hm… probably not. But we're doing this for his own good, so it's okay." Kowalski offered him a smile in the dim lighting before turning his attention back to the two otters above them. _Alright André, let's see who you really are. _

"So how was your talk with Skipper the other day? You never did tell me about it," Marlene sounded from above them.

"It was okay. Fun, actually… it was good to talk to him. He really didn't have the right to act like that around me when we first met."

"I know he didn't and I'm sorry. He can be paranoid sometimes. Um, did he happen to say anything about… about me? Perchance?"

Kowalski frowned at her question and the squeakiness in her voice. If she didn't like Skipper and thought that way about him… then why was she asking about him in that way?

"Um, no… not really. Why?"

Kowalski imagined the scowl and the disapproving frown on his face. His tone said it all.

"Just… wondering."

_Hm, a disappointed tone? So she does like Skipper! That proves that André __**was **__lying. No doubt about- _

"Actually… now that I really think back about it… I think he did say a few things about you…" André muttered.

At that point Kowalski wanted to go up there and slap him silly. He was changing his story! Which means he was lying the whole time! He clenched his flippers and heard Rico growl, making it known that he knew exactly what was going on.

"He said that he had no idea that otters were so annoying," he voiced in a now confident voice. "He also said that it's too bad your old aquarium zoo in California had to get rid of you. But then again, they probably couldn't take much more. And something about interfering in their 'training' too much? Yeah, it's getting annoying, apparently."

_"What?! That no good skunk bag…" _Kowalski hissed under his breath.

"Shhh!" Rico clamped a flipper over his beak to keep him quiet and under control.

"What? No, he wouldn't say that! That's not like him at all! Something's not right…" Marlene muttered. "Are… are you serious?"

"Does this face not look serious?"

Kowalski growled as a long silence past through the habitat. He was a no good liar that screwed with other people's relationships. Skipper was right in the beginning about how he gave off bad vibes. He fooled all of them… flawlessly.

"Come on, Kowalski! We've got to get back to the HQ to tell Skipper about this!" The three turned around and headed on down the pipe back to the headquarters. "Do you really think he said that about Marlene?" Private asked before he could stop himself. He already knew Skipper liked Marlene, but it was too late to take his words back.

"Private… Skipper _likes _Marlene. There's no possible way that he would say something like that about her. It's all André's fault."

"I know, I know. I wasn't thinking. How do you think he'll handle this when we get back?" Private asked him in his adorable British accent.

"Kaboom!" Rico offered.

"Yes, Rico, he won't be happy about it. But if he decides to get all mad I'm reminding him that if it weren't for us, they would be screwed until they figured it out themselves, which could have taken forever. Not to mention all of the anger that would have flared up between them."

"I just hope we're not too late…" Private whispered as they continued on to tell Skipper what they heard.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Okay, so the team found out… now it's time to bring Skipper back down to planet Earth. And I know it was short but the next one will be better :)_


	7. Chapter 7

__

Author's Note:

_Seventh chapter… I think. I know it's short but it's late and I'm tired. R&R!_

* * *

Kowalski, Private and Rico all barged in through the HQ's secret passage way, choosing not to go through the fishbowl entrance. Taking a dip into the pool would only slow them down and they wanted to get to Skipper as soon as possible to report what they heard. After all, the team does pride themselves on a rapid response.

"Skipper! Skipper!" Private exclaimed as they all ran up to him. Their leader jumped up and went into a fighting stance, making the others stop in their tracks. They bumped into each other back to back with a series of grunts.

"Gemini crickets, men! Don't you know better than to scare me like that? I could have snapped all of your necks if you didn't stop in time!" Skipper growled as he relaxed his tense muscles.

"Our apologies, sir, but we have some vital information for you that you must hear!" Kowalski jumped up and made wild gestures with his flippers, excited to break the news to Skipper.

"What is it man?! Spit it out! Did Dr. Blowhole finally blow up the sun?" Skipper asked, his eyes wide with excitement, feeling his adrenaline rushing through his body.

"No."

"What about Dr. Arcticus? Did he finally accomplish that army of were-penguins?"

"Were-…? N-never mind. No! It's not any of that stuff that is… out of the ordinary… it's about Marlene and André!" Kowalski unconsciously grabbed Skipper's shoulders.

Skipper's eyes widened at the feel of Kowalski grabbing him in such a manner. Sure he knew the smart penguin well... but that was a violation of personal space. "Kowalski, you're violating my personal space!"

"Right, sorry, sir." Kowalski released his grip and dusted Skipper off, much to his leader's annoyance. He mentally slapped himself as he remembered what he had to tell him. "Oh, right the news… it's André!"

"What about him?" Skipper shot them all a look of confusion.

"We ended up going over to Marlene's to do some recon over said subject. And you know how he said that Marlene said all of those things? Of course you do. Well, he was lying!"

Skipper stared his teammate in the eye before laughing, much to Kowalski's annoyance. "That's a load of hogwash! If anyone can sense lying, it's me!"

"Well, get this Skipper! André said to Marlene that you said that you thought that Marlene was annoying and that she should have never been shipped to Central Park Zoo. He also said that you said that they probably couldn't take much more of her in California and that she's a nuisance when it comes to interrupting our training," Private yelled. He gasped in a breath full of air, thankful for the sweet oxygen after his rushed revelation.

"Uh, yeah, that too." Kowalski blushed, not liking the fact that young Private revealed the important information and that he himself left it out.

"What?! I never said any of those things! You guys know that!" Skipper shook his head and rubbed his temples. "This is so confusing! Why I ought to… oh, there goes my blood pressure…" He stumbled back and fell into a chair which had been conveniently behind him. "Are… are you guys sure you heard that?"

"Positive." Kowalski gave a single nod of his head.

Skipper rocketed up from the chair. "What?! How could I -out of all people- be so blind?! He was lying right under my nose!" He growled a deep-throated growl and kicked a tin can against the wall. "Wait a minute… he told… _Marlene_...that?"

All three of them nodded their heads and backed up, knowing their leader was on the verge of a breakdown.

_"Oh, horrible happenings!" _He slapped his own cheeks with his flippers. "That little skunk bag has been behind this the _whole time?!" _

"I'm going to say, yes," Kowalski muttered as he wrung his flippers together.

"So… Marlene… didn't say those things about me… that was all… André." Skipper's face went eerily blank, which was quite frightening and unexpected after his little explosion. Not to mention how quiet and soft his tone had become.

"Um… Skipper? Are you okay?" Private asked, thinking his leader was suffering a stroke.

"I-I'm fine, soldier. It's just that…" he eyed his group blankly. He didn't want to tell them what he thought of Marlene since she never said that. Inside he was screaming: _'I've got a chance!' _But on the outside… it's all about staying calm. "How could he get past me like that?"

"My theory is that your feelings for Marlene were blocking your common sense. Making you 'blinded' by love. It's quite common in humans today, actually." Kowalski shrugged innocently. "And… occasionally animals."

"Hm, did I ask for your opinion, Kowalski?" Skipper asked with annoyance and his azure stare narrowed ever so slightly.

"Um, no… sorry, Skipper," he glanced down at the floor and back up before deciding to change the subject before he got slapped, "are we just gonna sit here and let Marlene drown in André's lies? That's so selfish!"

"Well, we've all been drowning in them so far…" Skipper sighed and sat down. "Who knows what Marlene thinks of me now?"

_"O-one way… find out," _Rico rasped.

"Rico is right, Skipper. There's only one way to find out what she thinks of you. You're not just going to let this all go by are you? We're the only ones who can fix it!" Private exclaimed, trying his best to be supportive.

Skipper took in a deep breath and stood up tall. "You're absolutely right, Private and Rico. There _is_ only one way to fix this. First of all, we've got to go and see Marlene… not undercover, of course." Skipper smiled evilly. "And give André that belated New York 'welcome'."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Dun, dun, dun. Hope you enjoyed this… short… boring… chapter. Lol. I'll update soon! I know this cliffy and the length is killing you guys. _


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note:_

_I think you guys will like this one. It's got a load of Skilene! Yay for Skilene! Lol. R&R and enjoy yourselves! This is the chapter most of you have been waiting for…_

* * *

"Wait just one teeny tiny minute, you pansies!" King Julien exclaimed from inside a tunnel behind Private's First Prize fish.

"Ringtail!" Skipper growled with annoyance. "How did you get past our…? Never mind, this is authorized personnel only! You can't just…"

"Ah, shush, shush, shush!" Julien walked forward and clamped a paw over the lead penguin's beak. "Do not be speaking to me in such a manner! I am king of… all sorts of things! And I have to say… you have the mushy-gushy love feelings for Marlene?"

"He sure does!" Private exclaimed. Skipper growled angrily with Julien's paw still on his bill.

"Private, that's classified!" Skipper hissed at him once he pushed Julien off.

"Oohh! I knew it! It is just flirt central between you two!" Skipper watched with disgust as the king lemur bounced up and down excitedly.

Kowalski chuckled. "That's what I said." He cowered slightly at Skipper's glare but immediately returned to his confident posture. "Well it's true!"

"I mean, with the 'cute yet naïve' comment!" Julien laughed with his paws clasped together in joy.

"And let's not forget the flirting when Rhonda was Marlene's roommate. 'Friendliness beats paranoia'," Kowalski said with a grin.

"Boop!" Rico added, referring to the moment where Marlene poked Skipper's beak.

"Alright, alright! That's enough!" Skipper sliced his flippers through the air angrily.

"Wait… speaking of Marlene's roommate thingy… isn't André Marlene's new partner?" Julien cocked an eyebrow.

Skipper bunched his flippers together angrily and growled. "Yes… he is. And he's lying to her _and _me."

"What is this lying of which you speak of? What in the name of me is he lying on about?" Julien placed his paws on his hips.

"He told Skipper that Marlene said that she thought Skipper was annoying and was turning her life upside down. He also said that she said that she wished we would go back to Africa with the rest of the zoo animals," Private informed Julien.

"Not to mention he told Marlene that Skipper said that he thought she was a nuisance and wished that she would go back to California. Not to mention he told her that Skipper said that he wished she was never shipped to Central Park Zoo," Kowalski muttered, knowing that they were confusing Julien with all of words in such a short time.

Julien gave them all a blank look. "Okay… okay. So this André dude was telling Skipper and Marlene all of these lies about what they thought about each other? And what he told you guys is the complete opposite of what you really think?"

All of them gawked at him, not believing that he had absorbed all of those words and actually understood them.

"Um, yeah. Pretty… much," Skipper muttered. "How did you follow all of that?" He cocked an eyebrow as Julien grinned like a lunatic.

"Romance is my thing. I'm all for it! The mushy-love stuff, and not to mention I just love confusion like this. Especially when I am the cause of it!" He clasped his paws together again and hopped up and down. "So… how are you going to win back the heart of the fair lady?"

Skipper's brow rose. "Win the heart of the…? What are you talking about, man?"

Julien scoffed like Skipper was a naïve child. "You have to prove to her that you really have feelings for her! Duh! You're not just gonna go over there and scream 'I love you' are you?"

"He's got you, Skipper. That would be an extremely irrational way of confessing your feelings for her. It's always best to take it slow and… not do it in a scary manner that could freak her out," Kowalski muttered as he wrote in his notebook, thinking of options of what Skipper could do.

"You too, Kowalski? So, what do you 'romance geniuses' think I should do?" Skipper crossed his flippers and sent glares to the two.

"Well… how much time do we have…?" Kowalski asked as he looked up at his leader. "How much time do we need?"

"Um, well I guess we have all day…" Skipper tapped his beak in thought.

"Oh, no. You do not want André to make a move on Marlene, do you? We have to do it real snappy like!" Julien exclaimed, appalled at how dumb the penguins were when it came to romance.

"Ooh, well played, Julien!" Kowalski pointed at him with the tip of his pencil before turning back to write down more notes. "Wow… I never thought I would say that in my lifetime."

Skipper groaned loudly and looked to the ceiling. "This is madness! I've got a spoiled lemur king that thinks everyone is going to worship him until the end of time and my _own _strategy planner telling me what I should do in my love life!"

"First of all, you silly-nilly penguin, you need me for this job! And second of all, why wouldn't people worship me? I am royalty! _King _Julien the Thirteenth!" He struck a pose that Napoleon Bonaparte would have laughed at.

"Uh, huh. Sure. Anyway, can we just get back to the point?!" Skipper yelled, feeling his blood pressure hit the roof again. He moaned and held his head. "How am I going to win Marlene's heart?"

"Baby, you already had Marlene's heart!" Maurice yelled. "Are you really that blind?"

Skipper gawked at them all. "O-okay… maybe I am if the chunky lemur over there can see it."

"I'm big-boned!" Maurice shouted in complaint.

"This is a nightmare…" Skipper groaned as he sat down. How on Earth was he supposed to get back to Marlene if they weren't going to cooperate?

"Okay, okay. Here is what I think you should do. Get Marlene a bunch of flowers -yes, that's good-, leave them at her doorstep and when she is seeing them, pop out of nowhere and ba-ba-ba boom! The Romance Train is leaving the station!" Julien crossed his arms and grinned proudly.

"Skipper… that might actually work! It's subtle, well thought out and doable. And not to mention it is better than jumping right into it. It's always better to take the sweeter side."

"…alright, we'll… go with Julien's plan," Skipper sighed. "This is so topsy-turvy."

***

Marlene let out one more choked out sob into her handkerchief. She couldn't believe she was crying over Skipper. Just the thought of him saying those things about her… it broke her heart. And what was worse was that André tried to make a move on her! That bastard tried to get her to…

She sighed and sat up to look around her habitat with irritated, bloodshot eyes. She sent -well, forced- André to leave. She said she was going to get Joey and Rico on him if he didn't give her some personal time. Not to mention she punched him around a little bit. That's her version of woman's persuasion.

After seeing how André really was, she wished she would have listened to Skipper. He said that that otter gave off bad vibes… those vibes were right. And now she felt horrible, angry and guilty of how she treated Skipper. She slapped him across the face and sent him flying into her pool! Not to mention she was steaming over how he said all of those things… but was also sad at the same time.

She really thought he was different and that he possibly shared her feelings that she felt for him but apparently she was wrong.

She pushed herself off of the rocky shelf and made her way outside to lie on a rock and forget about life. She was just half way out of the tunnel when she smelled a glorious smell… it was the sweetest scent she had ever come across. She frowned and continued out into the mouth of the doorway. She gasped as she saw what was laid out before her.

Flowers. Flowers wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper scattered about on the platform between the pool and her door. She reached out and stroked the petal of a gentle rose. She leaned down and sniffed it and was immediately filled with happiness. They were her favorites. She grinned.

"Who sent all of these?" she wondered out loud. She looked down and saw a note leaning up against the brightly colored petunias. _Get ready, _it read.

Before she could question the note, she saw a quick shadow pass over the water. Soon after the shadow she heard a soft thump. She looked up and saw Skipper standing by the edge of the pool alone without his team, which was highly unusual. Unless… did he send the flowers? Her eyes widened at that thought.

"Hi, Marlene," he greeted her, replacing his sarcastic smirk with a charming smile. He eyed her red eyes but decided to not say anything.

"H-hi, Skipper. I know I'm putting my neck out there but… did you send all of these?" She looked down and tried to conceal her blush. _Oh my God… what would I do if he did? _She looked back up slightly and saw white, showing that he was now directly in front of her.

"You don't like them?" he asked, trying to keep the hurt in his voice from showing.

"N-no! I love them! It's just that… after what André told me… you don't seem very likely to send these to me." Marlene looked him back up in the eye and saw a glint in his azure stare.

"Really? He told me that you said I was annoying and turning your life upside down." He cocked a brow when she looked up with a shocked look on her face. "Not to mention he also said that you thought we penguins should go back to Africa with Marty, Melman, Gloria and Alex."

"No! I never said that! Skipper… that's the complete opposite of what I think of you!" Marlene gasped as realization hit her. "Wait a minute… he told you that?"

"Yes. While we were talking a walk around the zoo the other day." Skipper sighed. "Look, I know he was lying. You don't have to get all worked up. My boys went to do some recon without my permission and heard what he told you today. You know, those lies about what I said, which I did not say!"

"Oh my god. It all makes sense now…" Marlene continued to stare deep inside Skipper's eyes, realizing what this meant.

"Marlene…" he took her paws in his flippers, "I would never say that about you. I care about you too much for my own good. And I cannot believe I honestly needed that shameful excuse of an otter to point out my feelings towards you. I'm risking a lot here… but I cannot stay away from you any longer."

Her wish was finally granted. He did like her the way she liked him. She grinned stupidly as she felt her heart take flight in her chest, making her want to do back flips. Her paws reached up and traced their way up to the sides of his face. She gently played with his silky feathers as her hormones took over. "Then don't…" she whispered before kissing him passionately on his bill.

He wound his flippers around her and pulled her close, feeling truly content for the first time in his life. "You have no idea how much torture I've been through…" he murmured as he pressed his beak against her neck.

She giggled as he nuzzled her. "Where's the team?" _They had better not be watching us… poor Private will have nightmares for weeks. _

"Don't worry about them. They're safe in the HQ, far away from us. Or at least, as far as we're gonna get them." Skipper chuckled and looked her in the eye again.

"Now that we got that out of the way…" Marlene stretched up and kissed him again, her arms woven around his neck, "what are we gonna do about the lying cheater, André?"

"You just leave that to the professionals." He winked down at her before leaning down to kiss her again.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_How sweet… hell, it's about time! Lol! Were you surprised about King Julien? He needed to come in. I couldn't let him sit out in the cold for much longer ;)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note:_

_Chapter nine! Enjoy! This is where you find out what they're gonna do with André. Let me know what you think of their choice and if it's enough. _

"Ah, I see my brilliant idea was very much a success!" Julien exclaimed as Skipper and Marlene walked through the door instead of down the fish bowl ladder, his flipper intertwined with her paw.

"What? That was Julien's idea?" she asked as she looked over at the penguin next to her. She raised her eyebrows as he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'll admit it… he did help out with it." Skipper shot her a nervous smile, afraid she would get mad that it wasn't his idea. "It worked, didn't it?" He relaxed as she smiled.

"Yes, it did work. Thanks for doing that, Julien. Who knows what Skipper would have done if you hadn't stepped in?"

"My calculations say he probably wouldn't have done anything. He would have terminated André, of course but with you… he would have chickened out," Kowalski muttered as he wrote on his notepad.

_"Thank you, _Kowalski," Skipper snapped in annoyance. "Which reminds me… what are we going to do about André? That little weasel almost ruined our future. Not to mention the present."

"Hm… I think we should put him in either the gorilla's pen, Joey's pen or the alligators'," Marlene said. Skipper scooted away from her slightly as she let out an evil chuckle that could put Rico to shame.

"Do we honestly have to result to violence?" Private whimpered. "We can just ship him off to somewhere he would hate."

"Maybe Private's idea would be better. How about Antarctica, Skipper?" Kowalski asked.

"Hm… that could work." Skipper grinned deviously. "But violence is needed here. We need to not only ship him in a crate alone… but in a crate full of… any ideas?" Skipper glanced around the room.

"Lobsters? Angry lobsters could work," Maurice spoke up.

"Hm, no. Otters love seafood…" Skipper muttered before glancing at Marlene. "Don't they?"

"Yeah, why do you think we eat clams?" Marlene crossed her arms. "How about something along the lines of spiders? He mentioned he hated spiders when I killed one the other day."

"Ooh, that's good," Kowalski voiced as he wrote down the options they could use. "So far I have snakes, spiders, lobsters and cockroaches."

"Cockroaches, Kowalski?" Skipper cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay… that's off the list." He was just about to mark it off but Marlene interrupted him.

"No, no! That's good too. I never said he didn't hate bugs in general," Marlene grinned, "any type of insect will work."

Rico suddenly let out an evil chuckle. They all turned around to see him holding a smoke bomb in each flipper.

"Rico, we're not gassing him out! Put those away before you accidentally set them off!" Skipper barked. He rolled his eyes as Rico groaned in disappointment and swallowed them again.

"Besides Rico's idea," Skipper glanced back over at him firmly, "we've got hot options, Kowalski! Put down scorpions." Skipper tapped his beak with his flipper. "And fire ants."

"Aren't scorpions poisonous, Skipper?" Private asked with his eyes wide. "And don't fire ants bite?"

"Yes… they are poisonous. And fire ants do bite when alarmed and disturbed," Kowalski informed him as he wrote the two down. "Actually, I believe they bite any time they can."

"Kowalski…" Skipper growled.

"Oh, dear…" Private cowered slightly. He was clearly alarmed about what they were planning to do to André.

"Private, why don't you go and do some recon? This clearly doesn't suit you since this is for adults only." Skipper walked up and placed a flipper on his back. He led him to the ladder.

"Actually, I'll handle him," Maurice turned to follow the two, "he can help me with something in the habitat."

Skipper watched as the two climbed up the ladder, sensing Private's happiness that he didn't have to listen to their twisted conversation any longer. He chuckled and turned around to face the others. "Now, where were we?"

"Scorpions and fire ants," Kowalski reminded him.

"Ah, yes." Skipper took his place next to Marlene and placed a flipper on his beak in thought again, which Marlene thought was just plain cute. "So, what do you guys think?"

"I, for one, think the scorpions and fire ants are just too much. They could kill him, could they not? We want him to go though torture, not kill him. I don't think the sky spirits would rightly want him up there with them." Julien glanced up at the ceiling.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but Julien's right. André must go but we should do it with dignity." Skipper stood up proudly and Kowalski and Rico automatically followed suit. "Marlene, where is André, anyhow?"

"I sent him away after he tried to make a move on me." Anger immediately crossed her face at the memory.

"What?!" Skipper shouted. He felt his blood pressure hit the roof again. "Oh, okay… okay," he closed his eyes and put his flippers to his forehead, "did you send him away to any place in particular?"

"No… I don't think so…"

"Rico! I want you to do some recon for me. Find out where André is and report back immediately." He watched him sternly as the explosives expert nodded and slid over to the door, choosing to use it instead of the ladder.

"So… while he's gone, we need to decide on what to use. So far we have fire ants, cockroaches, spiders and scorpions. Is lobsters still on the list?"

"Negative, Skipper. I crossed it out after Marlene pointed out that otters love seafood," Kowalski reminded him as he flipped through the options again.

"How could he eat them, anyway? They'll be pinching at him." Skipper frowned. "I don't even think otters like to eat lobsters. Marlene, that's false information!"

"Well, excuse me!" Marlene put her paws on her hips. "I'm just saying that we love seafood!"

Skipper's expression turned nervous as he sensed an argument coming on. "Okay… okay. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said it like that." He looked over into Marlene's eyes as he felt her arm wrap around him.

"It's okay," she whispered to him with a smile. She smiled wider as he wrapped his flipper around her and turned back to Kowalski, Mort and Julien. _It's good to see he's not really sensitive to public affection. Kissing might be over the top but still… this is good. _

"Alright, let's vote. I think we should use the cockroaches," Skipper voiced out into the room.

"I believe the best choice would be the spiders," Kowalski cast his vote in with a shrug to his leader.

"Spiders," Marlene said with a grin to Skipper.

"Spiders. If he doesn't like them, that's the perfect choice. And plus they're all creepy-crawly everywhere." King Julien shuddered. "So scary…"

"I _like _spiders!" Mort exclaimed in his squeaky voice as he clapped his paws together.

Skipper sighed and glared down at Marlene playfully. "Spiders it is then. And you're right, Julien… the more he hates them, the better it is. Wait… with all of the times I've thanked you and said you were right… what have you done to the real Julien?!"

Skipper lunged forward and grabbed Julien's shoulders, much to the lemur king's fright.

"Whoa, whoa Skippy! That's the real Julien!" Marlene wrapped her arms around him and pulled him back, making Skipper blush and release Julien.

"Sorry… I get paranoid sometimes," Skipper muttered as Marlene released him.

"Its okay you silly-nilly penguin. Most people don't see me in this light in the very often."

"Okay, we'll just wait until Rico gets back then tonight we'll ship him off to Antarctica like what we did with Rhonda. Marlene, you'll have to put on a show tonight. Act natural and when he's asleep, we'll take him to the docks with a fresh shipping label on his crate."

"Don't forget the spiders, Skipper," Kowalski spoke up with a grin. Skipper looked over at him.

"Don't worry. We won't."

_Author's Note:_

_I don't think that their choice of what they're gonna do to André is enough… but that's my opinion. All I can ask is to… REVIEW! _


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note:_

_This has more dialouge in it than I orginally was going for. I'm just saying! Enjoy anyway._

* * *

After Rico reported back to Skipper telling them that André had been in the Reptile House, they all went their separate ways.

"We'll see you soon, Marlene," Skipper whispered, pulling her into a hug while the others were still down in the HQ.

Marlene put her arms around him and stroked two fingers down his neck and continued down his spine. She smiled as she felt a shiver go through Skipper's body. "I love you, Skipper and I'm actually glad André showed up."

He pulled away and gave her a weird look. "How so?"

"If he hadn't come, we would have never gotten together. It's as simple as that." Marlene wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately before pulling away and gripping his flipper.

"I don't want you to leave… even though we'll see each other again in a few hours," Skipper sighed and he squeezed her paw. He watched her teeth shine in the moonlight as she smiled.

"I know but I have to. It'll be even better with André out of our hair." She pulled out of his grasp and walked backwards to the water. She smiled one last time before diving in.

Skipper sighed as he looked down at his still extended flipper, feeling Marlene's paw in it even though she had already gone over the railing.

"You ready to do this, Skipper?"

He jumped and whirled around at the sound of the voice behind him. He relaxed as he saw Kowalski's tall figure silhouetted against the light from the HQ underneath them. "Y-yeah. It'll be nice to not worry about that otter anymore. It'll be better for everyone with him gone. He won't have to face the embarrassment since everyone knows he was lying."

"I agree. He wasted his welcome here." Kowalski walked up to Skipper and stood next to him, both of them gazing at the moon. He glanced down at his rather short leader and smiled as he eyed the black lipstick on his beak.

He was really happy that the two had gotten together. He knew from the start that they had feelings for each other, especially how they would shoot glances at the other and the way Skipper always had an immediate smile on his face when she showed up. It had been so obvious they were infatuated with each other.

He knew Skipper's past relationship with Lola hadn't gone so well and he knew it wouldn't from the first time the two met but looking at Skipper and Marlene; he knew they would make it. They really loved each other while Lola was just a phase… a rather desperate phase. He was just glad Skipper got over her and didn't sink into a permanent depression. Skipper was like a brother to him.

"Alright my loyal subjects! I am to be returning to my kingdom now for my beauty sleep," King Julien announced as he climbed out of the fish bowl hole. The two penguins turned around to see Julien standing behind them with Mort next to him, the little mouse lemur stretching and yawning.

"Goodnight, Julien. And once again, thanks for your help today." Skipper gave him a friendly pat on his shoulder.

"It was no problem to me, Skipper," Julien glanced over at Marlene's and winked down at him, "good luck with André and Marlene tonight."

"Uh, thanks… but we're just dealing with André. You know… Antarctica and the spiders?" Skipper backed away from him and cocked his brow, wondering what he meant when he said André _and _Marlene.

Julien chuckled creepily, sending chilling shivers down Skipper's spine. "You know what I mean," he said before letting out a growl through his teeth. He grinned as Skipper blushed, his eyes darting around to make sure Private wasn't up there with them. Maurice had brought him back at the same time Rico reported back in.

"Just get out of here, Julien. Get you some rest," Skipper ordered as he rolled his eyes, trying to conceal his besotted mood.

"Alright, see you guys." He headed off with Mort to the edge of the water.

Skipper watched as they left across the zoo walkway to their habitat. "Little pest… alright men! Let's hit the hay. We've got a job to do later tonight." He looked over the others before turning to Marlene's habitat. He sighed happily and turned around to follow the others through the fish bowl hole.

_Skipper stared at the back of the figure that was standing on top of Marlene's habitat. The rain that was beginning to fall streaked innocently down his body and his beak. He narrowed his eyes as André finally spoke. _

_"__It is a rainy night, Skipper," he muttered without turning around, showing that he had been aware of the penguin's presence. _

_"Net tak kak v Moskve (not like in Moscow)," he growled, feeling the tingle on his tongue as he switched his English to Russian. He hated their language._

_André turned around with boredom etched in his expression, showing that he wasn't afraid of Skipper one bit. "Tak, vy znaete (So, you know)."_

_"Da. I ya znayu chego vy skazali Marlen. Mimo, kak Kapitan eti dni? (Yes. And I know what you told Marlene. By the by, how is Captain these days?)"_

_"Ty sliskom umniy dlya mertveca, Shkiper. (You are too smart for a dead man, Skipper)."_

_Skipper gasped as André lunged at him, showing for the first time, his skill in the Russian combat art, Sambo. He was flipped backward, hanging by a thread as his flipper grasped the edge of the roof. He looked down to see blackness, showing that his fall had no apparent end. _

_He looked back up to see André towering over him with a confident smirk. _

_"Shkiper… Shkiper…" André kept repeating Skipper's name like a broken record. Skipper narrowed his eyes as André made a smooth transition back to English, concern taking over his confident expression. "Skipper? Skipper, wake up!" _

Skipper gasped roughly as his eyes flew open. His face contorted into pain as he drove his head into the top of his bunk. "Ow! M-Marlene?" He peeked up over his flippers into her concerned eyes. "Wh-what happened?"

"You were having a fright! And a bad one at that. You kept groaning and you said something in… another language." Private rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.

"I believe it was Russian, Private," Kowalski told him as he placed a flipper on the young one's back.

He glanced around as the nightmare came flooding back into his mind like a beaver dam breaking against a heavy current. He had dreamt that André was a Russian spy for… for Captain. He swallowed and shuddered mentally.

Captain had once been his father figure… but when Skipper saw how he really was… he turned his life upside down.

"Skipper…? Do you want to talk about it?" Marlene whispered as she placed a paw on his white chest.

Skipper shook his head as he cleared his thoughts, thanks to Marlene. "N-no. It was just a nightmare. Nothing I can't handle." He lifted himself out of his bunk and made his way to the center of the HQ, his flippers on his hips as he stared at the clock. "Right… we've got a job to do men! …and Marlene."

"Skipper… why were you speaking Russian?" Private piped up, showing his confusion on his leader's dream.

"I said drop it, soldier!" Skipper shouted but guilt filled him to the brim as Private cowered backwards. "I'm… sorry. It was just… an unexpected dream." _If you can call that a dream._

"Alright… Marlene… is André asleep?" Skipper asked as he turned to her.

"Affirmative, sir." Marlene said, straightening up like she was in the team like Kowalski, Rico and Private.

Skipper couldn't help but grin at Marlene's attentive appearance. _Wow, she's so cute. _"Thank you Marlene… at ease." He walked up and slipped a flipper around her waist, much to Marlene's giddiness and ecstasy. "Okay… we head out… now! Commence Operation: Get rid of André!"

"Bit on the nose isn't it, Skipper?" Kowalski asked.

"Just the way I like it." Skipper grinned at Marlene before she laid her head on his shoulder. They all turned to the door and headed out to the otter habitat.

"Damn, this otter is heavy!" Kowalski whispered and half groaned to Rico as he lifted André by the forearms while Rico had his legs. "I could have sworn the average otter was only thirteen pounds."

"Rrrr…" Rico growled quietly in agreement as they carried him outside.

"Oh, stop whining! At least he's not another walrus," Skipper hissed as they made their way to the secret entrance they had concealed behind leaves at the habitat the whole time, much to Marlene's annoyance.

They carried him off to the truck they had waiting at the front of the zoo with a crate. They silently bounded up André in ropes and lowered him into the wooden box, all of them thankful that the male otter was a heavy sleeper.

As soon as they lowered him into the box and got the top closed along with the shipping label on the crate, the truck started. The four of them jumped off and watched the truck zoom off around the corner.

"Mission accomplished!" Skipper announced. "Wait… where's Rico?" Skipper looked around in confusion for his third teammate but he couldn't find him. His eyes rested on Marlene's devious expression. "Marlene…?"

"I just did some simple bribing with Rico. I promised him to give all of my candy stash of chocolate buttons and candy fish if he helped me out and pushed André's punishment a little further." Marlene placed her paws behind her back and grinned up at the sky, faking innocence.

"And… didn't we forget the spiders in André's crate?" Kowalski asked.

"Don't worry… Rico and I set that up at the docks. There's a crate full of not only spiders… but spiders, cockroaches _and_ fire ants. We just have to go down there and put them in the crate ourselves." Marlene grinned, proud of herself.

"Wait… how exactly is Rico pushing André's punishment further?" Skipper asked while he fought back a smile.

***

André moaned as he opened his eyes, only to find darkness. "Hey… where am I?" He looked around and realized that he was in a box… with ropes tied around him! He growled as he struggled against them. Whoever bound him up, they were good with knots.

He looked around the dark crate again and heard the pattering of feet. "H-hello? Who's there?" After he said that, he heard the raspy breathing of what sounded like… Rico!

"Oh man, I am glad to see you!" André exclaimed. "Why don't you help me out of these ropes?" He suddenly became nervous as he eyed the penguin's menacing expression through the dim lighting. "Dude… what's wrong with you?"

He flinched as he heard the sound of him regurgitating. "What are you? Sick or something?" His eyes widened as he heard the screaming sound of a chainsaw and Rico's insane evil laugh. "No… hey, don't do that! N-no… _**NOOOO**_!" André screamed as Rico came toward him with his beloved chainsaw.

***

Skipper smiled as they drove a Mercedes-Benz down the road to the docks. Kowalski had happily hot wired it so that they could polish off the mission by retrieving Rico and flooding André's crate with the spiders, cockroaches and fire ants. "I have to say, Marlene… I like the way you think," Skipper praised her as he wrapped his flipper in her paw again.

"Thanks, Skipper," Marlene giggled. "No one messes with us."

Skipper was just about to say something else but Private cut him off.

"There's the truck and the crate!" Private exclaimed. Skipper looked up over the dashboard to see Rico climbing out of the crate with a satisfied grin on his face.

Skipper opened up the door of the car and walked up to him, giving him a high five. "Good work, soldier!" He continued up to the crate while Rico climbed into the black Mercedes. He hopped up to the side of the crate and looked down into it to see André down at the bottom, too scarred up and beaten to be afraid. "See, André? This is what happens when you mess with New Yorkers."

He looked up to see Kowalski and Marlene above them, positioned with a crate full of creepy-crawlers and ready to dump it at Skipper's command. Skipper grinned at them, knowing Marlene had been looking forward to it all night. He let out a loud whistle, jumping out of the way just in time before he got rained on by the insects.

André let out a scream as they nailed the crate shut again. Skipper waited for Marlene and Kowalski before heading off to the car.

"I was looking forward to that all night, Skippy," Marlene laughed with a goofy grin on her face.

"I know you have!" Skipper reached down and wrapped his flipper around her paw again. He glanced down at something clutched tightly in her other paw. He frowned as he read the word 'Antarctica' in big bold letters. "Marlene… what is that?"

She glanced down at the paper and grinned widely. "Didn't I tell you? I switched André's shipping label with one that said the Sahara Desert. I thought it was more… hm… appropriate." She laughed at Skipper's shocked expression. "What? I can play dirty!" She nudged him with her elbow.

"Rico nearly tearing André to shreads and filling up his crate with spiders, cockroaches and fire ants wasn't enough for you?" Skipper rolled his eyes. He smiled down at her as she kissed his cheek.

"Like I said, Skipper… no one messes with us."

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I have never been as skeptical about a chapter as much as this one. I hope it's just author's paranoia again... ':( *kinda sweaty* Also, I want to thank Hidden Stranger for giving me the idea for putting Rico in André's crate. It was an awesome idea and I just had to use it! And also Gatorgirl1245 for suggesting putting everything they were talking about into André's crate. Marlene and Rico took care of that :) And most of all, I want to thank 2wingo for giving me the Russian dialect in Skipper's nightmare. That was probably the most helpful. A major thank you to all three of you once again! :D_


End file.
